On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is a consistent goal of the international community and the government, in response to a statement released the previous day by Kim Yo-jong, Director of the General Affairs Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea, in which she claimed that denuclearization is impossible.
On that day, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that under the vision of peaceful coexistence and shared growth, the government is striving to realize a Korean Peninsula free of war and nuclear weapons.
The Ministry explained that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is a consistent goal of the international community, as confirmed by numerous United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions, adding that the government intends to work with the international community to halt, and ultimately reduce and eliminate, North Korea’s nuclear program through dialogue and cooperation.
Furthermore, it emphasized that extended deterrence cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. is the duty of a responsible government to protect the lives and safety of its citizens, and this is fully consistent with the international non-proliferation regime and norms, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The previous day, Vice Minister Kim reaffirmed North Korea’s stance against denuclearization in a statement, declaring that nuclear-weapon state status is an absolute and unyielding red line. In particular, he dismissed the U.S. government’s claim that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed the common goal of North Korea’s denuclearization at last month’s U.S.-China summit, calling it a complete fabrication and baseless false information.
This message drew particular attention as it came just one day before President Xi’s visit to North Korea. It is interpreted as a preemptive signal to both the U.S. and China that denuclearization will absolutely not be discussed at this North Korea-China summit.